Quinton Lucas

City Councilmember

Kansas City, MO

Lucas was elected to the City Council of Kansas City in June of 2015. Lucas plans to advocate for new policies to create high quality jobs in the city, improve public services, and ensure that infrastructure improvement remains a priority in Kansas City politics. Recent articles have hailed him as the “most promising candidate” in two decades. A Cornell Law graduate, Lucas is the youngest tenure-track professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, which makes him one of the youngest tenure-track law professors in the country. In 2011, Mayor Sly James appointed Lucas to the Kansas City Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA), where Lucas works to support job growth and development. In 2013, James also appointed Lucas to the commission to review the City’s charter and make recommendations which voters passed last year.

Pro-Growth Progressive Ideas Shared

Problem

Tools like tax incentive financing and investment incentives, which were made to address blight and help poor urban areas, were often being used in already successful real estate areas. As a result, members of the minority community and public institutions felt defensive against economic development, and these programs were building up areas that were not in need of extra support.

Solution

Disagreement over how tax incentives were being used had been a problem for decades without any successful compromise. I introduced a reform to tax incentive financing policy that reduced incentive amounts in developed areas to steer investment to poorer communities. My plan was the result of collaboration with poorer communities and community advocates, but also the business community that had previously resisted any reform.